Method of making cigarettes.



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No. 82mm PATENTED JULY 24, 1906.

' s. I. PRBSGOTT.

4METHOD 0F MAKING GIMRETTBS,v

APPLICATION FILED NOV. l2. 1904.

l'rillm 1HE Narzms PETERS cc., wasulmmm. n. c.

UNITED sTATns PATENT onirica.

SYDNEY I. PRESCOTT, OE NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN TOBACCO COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 24, 1906.

Apjlicmign filed November 12,1904. Serial No. 232.479.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that l, SYDNEY l. PREscoTT, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Making Cigarettes, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to certain improvements in a method or a process of making cigarettes.

In making certain kinds of cigarettes it is customary to form iiller charges, shape these charges, and introduce them into previouslymade tubes or casings. The tobacco from which the iller charges are formed is usually subjected to the action of a separating mechanism which loosens up the fibers of the tobacco, and the loosened fibers are allowed to drop onto a support, which is usually a conveyer. As the tobacco fibers drop onto the support or conveyer the longer fibers fall in K such a way as to leave interstices between them and the shorter-iibered tobacco or shorts, as it is termed, falls through these interstices to a considerable extent and lies next the support or conveyer. The result of this is that a sheet or mass of tobacco is formed on the conveyer which has the shorterfibered tobacco arranged on one side of the mass to a very considerable extent and the longer fibers on the other side of the mass, though of course some of the shorter-fibered tobacco or shorts will be intermingled with the longer-fibered tobacco. The charges separated from this mass present the same characteristics, and the result is that when these charges are cased cigarettes are formed in which the shorts lie principally upon one side of the cigarette, the longer-fibered tobacco lying on the other side. Such cigaettes do not have an even draft, and consequently are liable to burn unevenly.

The ob]- ect of the present invention is to improve the method of making cigarettes by so disposing the shorts in the filler as to produce a cigarette which shall have a free draft and which shall burn evenly in smoking.

Tnasmuch as the process can best be understood by reference to illustrative drawings, the invention will be described in connection with such drawings, the drawings'including a diagrammatic illustration of a simple mechanism which may be used in carrying the invention into effect. It is to be understood, however, that the invention does not depend upon the particular mechanism illustrated or upon any mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l illustrates diagrammatically a sectional elevation of certain parts of a machine for making cigarettes. Fig. 2 is a sectional view, the plane of section being at right angles to the plane in which the section of Fig. 1 is taken. Fig. 3 is a detail view.

In carrying out the invention the tobacco from which the fillers are to be separated will be arranged in a mass or sheet, which mass or sheet consists of a layer of long-fibered tobacco lying between twolayers of shorterfibered tobacco. While this mass may be produced in various ways', it may be conveniently produced by first thoroughly separating or loosening u the tobacco fibers. This can be done by su ecting a mass of tobacco to the action of a picker mechanism. The drawings illustrate such a mechanism. ln the drawings the mass of tobacco (marked l) is shown as being forwarded by a suitable belt, (marked 2,) said belt running over a roll 3. As the tobacco leaves the belt it is forwardedy along a curved guide 4 by means of a roll 5, having suitable forwarding-pins 6. As the tobacco leaves the curved guide it is subjected to the action of a rapidly-running roll 7 which is studded with pins 8. This roll acts to thoroughly separate and loosen up the fibers of the mass, so that they fall in a shower on a suitable supporting-surface, which may conveniently consist of two belts 9 l0, these belts running over rolls 11 l2, which are spaced apart from each other. As the shower of tobacco falls on the belts the longer fibers arrange themselves so as to leave interstices between them IOO cesses in the former and in the blocks 16.

f cumference of the formed filler. formation of' the filler is completed it is ready-to be incased in a tube.

After thismass of tobacco has been formed theV charges are separated therefrom, this bein conveniently effected bycausing the be tst'o discharge into a channel formed by plates k13, which in turn discharges into a charge-compressing box 14. A reciprocating charge former 15 is mounted in this box, which cooperates with two stationary chargeforrning blocks 16, there being shaping re- It will be seen that the charges will be seperated by a movement in each direction of the charge former, and it will also be noted that in this separating and charge-forming operation the layers of tobacco are practically undisturbed, so that the formed cigarette-'filler will .consist of a centralportion of long bers,-

the shorts `being distributed on the outer cir- After the This may be donel by causing a suitable plunger, as 17, to

force out the formed ller through a spout 18,-

upon which a tube or case is placed.

When a mechanism similar to that illustrated in the drawings, the novelfeatures of which are claimed in an application, Serial No. 232,480, filed at even date herewith, is usedfor carrying out the process, the falling .shower of tobacco 'fibers will be protected I'from drafts by a guide, such as indicated at 19. This guide should be mounted so that it may be reciprocated from side tov side in order to evenly lay the tobacco on the belts.

Vhat is claimed is- 1. The method of making cigarettes which consists in arranging the filler-tobacco in a mass consisting of two layers of short iber with a layer or' longer ber between them, separating the Iiller charges from the mass and forming and incasing the charges, substantially as described.

2. rIhe method of making cigarettes which consists in arranging the filler-tobacco in two sheets eachy consisting of a layer of shortiibered tobacco and a layer of longer-ibered tobacco, assembling the two sheetsinto a single sheet or mass with the longer-iibered layers forming a single layer. between `the layers of shorter bers, separating the filler charges from the mass and forming andincasing the charges, substantially as described.

3. The method of making cigarettes which consists in showering separated tobacco fiber on two supports whereby the shorterlibered tobacco Jfalls through the interstices between the longer-fibered tobacco, so that sheets are formed consisting of a layer of shorter-iibered tobacco lying next the support and a layer of longer-ibered tobacco on top of it, assembling the two sheets into a single sheet or mass with the longer-fibered layers forming a singley layer between. the layers of shorter fibers, separating the iiller charges from the mass and forming and incasing vthe charges, substantially as described. y

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my'hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses SYDNEY I. PRESCOTT. Witnesses:

A. WHITE, T. F. KEHOE. 

